mating season

Last weekend again found Gavin and me at Trail Wood, where we did some very rudimentary tracking.

What delight it gave me to find deer hoof marks in the snow by Edwin Way Teale’s cabin:

Days before, I had snapped a photo of what I assumed must be rabbit tracks in the snow of our yard. But it turns out they belonged to the ubiquitous grey squirrel:

I am starting to realize that the squirrel is relegated to “only” statements unfairly. Why only a squirrel? They have whole, busy lives that go mostly unnoticed right outside our door–gathering food, meeting friends and “significant others,” avoiding predators (and in our case for many years past, chewing their way into cozy attics).

I am sure that without Gavin I would never have spotted the snow fleas aka springtails by Teale’s cabin. All that hopping is because they don’t use legs or wings to move—they are propelled by an abdominal appendage (thank you Backyard Almanac!). The fleas, too, are in or approaching mating season, which depends on relatively warmer temperatures.